Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Living Witness (1998) User Reviews

I love this episode!

[dcobbimdb · 10/10 · 28 May 2015]

When feeling nostalgic and going through old TNG or Voyager episodes this one ranks in my top 5.

I love how they portray the voyager crew as a ruthless merciless band of thugs tromping their way through the galaxy, pretty much throwing the morality book out the air lock with their black leather gloves on. It's bold and epic, and yet in a comically tasteful or tasteless way such that it's intriguing, gripping and down right funny.

The first 15 minutes of the episode is hysterical, I loved seeing Voyager armed with all that arsenal, the crew bent on destruction, and it's backup Borg security protocol lol! Talk about a well oil'd machine in the interest of self preservation and domination!

Perhaps what I find most intriguing about the episode is it tactfully strides on the concept of different nations perspectives on events of history and how it puts them in the best of light. I'm from America and this is an American show, and while I detest war I can't help but wonder how other nations view shared events in history. How our history books might differ from theirs, and I suspect they do... I'm not political, yet I have often felt we as the "Good o'l US of A" take on a somewhat bullish or dominance precedence in world affairs, getting involved in foreign soil affairs and wars which don't or at least shouldn't concern us. Okay I'm sure I stepped in it now... but in part that's what this episode makes me think about

Overall great episode, nice to see them change things up, jump off the deep end and just go for it. Very original episode, even if it was already done in TOS, still a great episode!

One of the best Trek Episodes ever IM0

[brianjohnson-20043 · 10/10 · 9 October 2018]

It's 700 years in the future of the typical voyager timeline and an alien culture voyager interacted with on their journey home still blames voyager for their involvement in their squabble with another alien race on their planet.

They blames voyager for disrupting their peace talks. And have an entire museum with holographic scenes of voyager's interaction with the two aliens shown from the perspective of the aliens. Their narrarive is erroneous and hysterical.

Then someone from the museum accidentally discovers and activates the EMH backup file which was part of their artifacts. The backup doctor has a different (true) recollection of the squabble, but will anyone take his his account seriously?

This episode is about how cultures can come or fail to come to grips with the reality of their past. And how those misconceptions and lies can have a lasting crippling effect on the societies. It also demonstrates how difficult it can be to present the truth when you are addressing people who are investing in a more convienient narrative for their own peace of mind, regarding of the evidence.

It's a great story topic for science fiction which isn't very often told in an interesting way like the way we see it in this episode. This episode manages to be one of the more insightful and funny episodes of the series. This one and blink of an eye are my all time favorite Voyager episodes. Its certainly worth a viewing, and I'd argue multiple viewings.

It's also the only Star Trek episode to not feature any main characters in their ordinary form. And it takes place further into the future than any other episode. And it isn't even a time travel episode. All in all, a very noteworthy episode.

the best

[lisaweaver · 10/10 · 9 April 2006]

This is hands down my favorite voyager ep. Each character, real or fictional is expertly and quite convincingly portrayed. Most especially the leading performances by Henry Woronicz (quarren) and Robert Picardo are stunning and flawless. I think it's great to be able to see another, darker side of the cast without going into the other universe. Here it's another version of history with many flaws that's the premise for this quite successful experimental glimpse.

The story unfolds like this: a much darker form of voyager and it's crew are shown. Their barbarians and murderers. Come to find it's 700 yrs. In the future and this is the history being taught to the 2 races inhabiting a D.Q. Planet. This version is challenged by a newly reactivated doctor, who is silenced when he attempts to tell his side of the story to Quarren the curator of the "voyeger museum". But after thinking it over, Quarren re-activates the doctor and agrees to hear him out. More things happen. I won't tell you the ending, save that it's quite a moving scene.

Record this download it. Buy the DVD. Even if it's only for the evil scenes, or, if you're like me, the scenes after the Doc is brought back. It's definitely worth it. 5 of 5 stars

Rewriting history

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 10 February 2010]

As this episode opens it is clear that something isn't quite right; Janeway is explaining to an alien that Star Fleet is a military organisation that will do anything to achieve its goals, when asked to help fight a war in exchange for information about a worm hole the captain is more than happy to help... it soon becomes clear that this is a simulation in a museum on an alien planet, they believe this accurately reflects events which took place seven hundred years previously. After the display concludes a member of the public of the species who appeared to seek Voyager's help confronts to curator about the accuracy of the display. The curator says that he has found an artefact that should prove his theories shortly. When he examines the item it turns out to be a copy of the Doctor who, when activated, is shocked at the misrepresentation of Voyager's actions and sets about putting things right, although it isn't certain that he will be believed.

This is a superior episode of Voyager, it is obviously the Doctor's episode and Robert Picardo performs well in the role. It was also great to see the rest of the crew acting out of character in the simulation; it was so over the top that it became darkly comic.

Yippee--a sadistic version of Voyager!

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 23 February 2015]

Many years ago, the original "Star Trek" show had a classic, "Mirror, Mirror". In this show, the away team accidentally beamed to an alternate reality where the Enterprise crew was evil. It was wonderful--with deliciously evil performances by the cast. However, follow-up episodes in this same alternate universe were far less successful--mostly because they overused the idea. Fortunately, a similar sort of evil ship is seen in "Living Witness"--but with so much originality that it all works very well.

When the show begins, you see Captain Janeway acting very much unlike she usually does. Soon you realize that this ISN'T actually Voyager but a holographic representation that the Kyrians are watching 700 years in the future. The past they construct is a lie- -and they THINK that Voyager was an evil ship which ruthlessly used people in their trek across the galaxy. They are blamed for all the planet's woes and now folks go to a museum to learn about the evil Voyager! However, one of the museum workers decides to activate the backup of the holo Doctor--and he learns that their view of Voyager is really a mess!

I loved just how evil Voyager was in this show. I loved when Chakotay was torturing a prisoner and Mr. Kim intervened--not to stop him but to assist in beating the man. Then, the Doctor has a much better idea--injecting a solution that slowly and painfully dissolves the guy's brain!! They are so over the top awful that I had a good laugh. It's also funny to see that Janeway has her own army of Borg that she uses ruthlessly--assimilating the people they capture!

Bold, edgy, creative and thankfully not so nice and touchy-feely like too many of the show's other episodes.

Excellent Episode...

[scs0 · 10/10 · 13 March 2007]

...unfortunately I can't help feeling a little sad for this copy of the doctor because he never got to see his family return home. Oh well, by this time the Doc should be able to get a mobile emitter without using time travel! On the serious side this is a fascinating episode based upon the dangers of revisionist history. The descendants of one side of a major conflict involving the Voyager crew and another species have managed to fabricate a version of the events that place themselves in the most favorable position. Using historical records and artifacts, this side of the conflict has managed to create a version of history that seems like it could be factual, but was radically off-base. Needless to say, but this consequences of this revisionist history has rippled through their history. These events take place 700 years in the future and are challenged when a copy of the holographic doctor is discovered and is rightfully outraged by all this.

Replace "Voyager" with "United States" and the alien society's historical re-enactments with the movie "Fahrenheit 911" and this episode makes for some interesting commentary on the consequences of propaganda and revisionist history. That's what makes Star Trek great: the stories provide excellent and often timeless commentary on society.

Very interesting

[NeonNight899 · 9/10 · 27 June 2021]

I don't have much in the way of a review but this episode reminds me of a time in middle school where my teacher wanted to show us an example of revisionist history (not part of a lesson just something she wanted to do). She got an older U. S. History textbook from several years back that our school used briefly. The book would use words like "slave ship" but then switch to referring to enslaved people as "workers". It was a clear attempt at minimizing slavery in the U. S.

Like in this episode, for many people certain parts of history can sometimes feel uncomfortable to learn and so others will try to make it more palatable. However, this method never seems to make things better. No progress is made with this. Instead you have people who unable to truly comprehend the extensiveness which certain moments of history continue to effect others. There isn't a need to feel guilt for the past rather just acknowledging the truths of history and attempting to make things better for the future to correct the wrongs of the past is a good place to start.

There is a good quote by Malcolm X that sort of fits this situation: "If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there's no progress. If you pull it all the way out that's not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made. And they haven't even pulled the knife out much less heal the wound. They won't even admit the knife is there"

So Creative--So Real

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 3 September 2018]

This is one of my two or three favorite episodes. It begins with Janeway ready to negotiate with an alien presence for dilithium. It turns out, however, that what she must do is aid this guy in his attack on an adversarial planet. We now cut to a museum, 700 years later, where Voyage and her crew are seen as consummate villains. The people in power control the narrative, guessing at what their ancient artifacts are. But the fly in the ointment for the curator is a holographic device that brings our doctor to "life." He begins to tear apart the extrapolations created for the populace. Of course, there is a price to pay. There are still warlike factions on the planet and the power people don't want to give up their stranglehold. This is so creative and so interesting and speaks to what may happen here.

All a Matter of Perspective!

[spasek · 10/10 · 25 March 2021]

This episode reminds me of the famous Indian parable about the blind men and the elephant. Each blind man touched a different part of the elephant, to the point where they were arguing over who was correct. Of course, they were all correct...according to their own perspectives! History is always told by the victors. We rarely--if ever--have a chance to know what really happened, unless you were actually there. Instead, we can piece together various bits of data and hope to portray events as they happened as closely as possible. But can history ever be told 100% accurately? Ask two people to give accounts of a single event, and invariably, you will be given accounts that are varied and different in some way. Does this mean that they are wrong? Not necessarily. It simply means that absolute truth can only be experienced rather than shared. It has been said that Truth cannot be proved or disproved for this very reason. This is a fascinating episode in which a man of history attempts to piece together events that took place over 700 years ago. Of course, he believes it is true until the Doctor is reactivated and provides him with more details. The Doctor is lucky in the sense that most people who scoff and even deny someone else's account would ever choose to accept a different perspective. Imagine how people would react if provided more details about the attack on Iraq? Or details and politics about World War II? Governments exist to protect their own truth--their own version of events--rather than the facts. This is where the historian and the Doctor find themselves in a quandry about how to present more facts to the events that are being investigated. This is a compelling episode of Voyager--one that should cause people to not blindly accept those "facts" put into history books, but to keep an open mind about what really happened, as well as to always look at all sides of events.

A great halftime show.

[smiledaydream · 10/10 · 16 February 2021]

This is a great break in the series. Fun to see Tim Russ directed this one. I wish I could put together who exactly comes up with this kind of story. The story is presented perfectly with wonderful twists. The most unlikely occurrence is that "hedgehog" would be a racial epithet in the century. At this point in the series I like that the captain's hair is no longer so unnatural and her voice is not as nasal. Though the doctor does the bulk of the work in this episode, I find the captain character most fun to watch.

Mirrors Real Life

[drake-58028 · 9/10 · 27 September 2020]

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Seeing the "evil" Voyager crew was quite fun. I teared up at the end when I learned that everything worked out and that the backup doctor went looking for home on his own.

As I watched this episode, like some here, I thought of how it mirrors things about our world and current struggle. How I saw it though is that the "bad" people of the past, the Kyrians, are most like white people. I am one of these people so throughout my growing up, I've felt like the Quarren the curator in that I've had to come to grips with the fact that I am a descendant of people who have done some truly horrible things. The only thing backwards about this analogy is that the Kyrians are the ones who are disadvantaged, but white people are actually quite advantaged on average.

The revisionist history is a theme here and again in real life, I've gotten to see this. My school history books glossed over slavery and focused much more on the other achievements of the Europeans. It also said that the Civil War was not about slavery. Over time I have learned more and more facts about what the Europeans really did and that the Civil War was about slavery.

I hope the biggest take-away people get from this episode is that you should always look for facts, not opinions, and remember to keep an open mind rather than blindly believing the first story you are told.

Clunky wrting

[neil-sklar · 6/10 · 10 April 2021]

Clunky, heavy-handed writing, and the direction doesn't do anything to help it. Too bad, because it's based on an interesting idea.

A Lil bit too Far

[bandannadude · 1/10 · 7 November 2022]

This episode took it a lil bit too far. Janeway being portrayed as a female version of Adolf Hitler, the beatings, the killings of k.yrians, a star wars version of star trek with the wipe out of a planet, & ongoing violence. I don't think so. I don't need a Lucas family fight. Janeway & her crew were some of my faves. I didn't ever see them as the way this episode portrays them. They were far better people than killers & murderers. Sure, they had their differences, difficulties, hard times throughout the years but they still worked really well & hard together. They managed to find ways to solve issues & make their way home together in the end. This was truly sloppy writing of an episode. A borg security team? Heck no.

History or interpretation?

[thevacinstaller · 9/10 · 30 November 2021]

A very compelling episode.

In my country (Canada) we have a history of removing (thousands of) indigenous children from their parents and then converting them to Catholicism. When I was in school I was never taught about this and I thought about that during the entire duration of this episode.

This is what I would classify as 'classic trek' ----- exploring philosophical questions about what is truth and the historical fallout of misinformation.

Wonderfully structured and executed episode. As an added bonus, I get to see long term consequences to breaking the prime directive ---- something that I always enjoy seeing explored.

Strong episode with a great premise

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 24 June 2023]

Seven hundred years into the future and a museum describes Voyager as a warship with a reputation for terrorism.

The story is based around a great idea that Voyager's interaction with a planet could lead to a revisionist history that suits a political agenda. It is a worthwhile subject to address given how much truth people accept as absolute based on the word of others.

One of the highlights is another great performance by Robert Picardo, who carries the story through virtually every scene. It is also fun to see various actors playing evil versions of their characters in a similar style to mirrorverse episodes.

Some of the guest characters are written and played slightly one-note, but for me it does not reduce the quality of the episode too much.

Bad Kathy Rules

[padresteve · 10/10 · 16 May 2023]

This is an outstanding episode. Set in the far future it shows the crew of Voyager in such a different manner than we are used to seeing them. To see Captain Janeway ordering the genocide of a race, as portrayed by a people who had no firsthand knowledge of the events was fascinating. In the scenes shown the crew seems to be acting more like Klingons than humans, though I wonder just how much different that we might be. That being said, watching the Doctor defend them against the falsified "history" being presented was superb. The Kyrians had believed a lie and the Doctor's witness made them question their beliefs. Far too many people today are willing to believe lies about history. This episode is important in trying to understand how that can happen.

Black gloves Janeway is angry

[tomsly-40015 · 10/10 · 1 January 2024]

This episode is one of the best Voyager episodes. Strong story, great alternate appearance of an evil Voyager crew and an interesting way of storytelling by simulating past events as they could have happened.

The Voyager bridge in a darker lighting, the ship equipped with big guns and the crew dressed with black gloves and black turtlenecks is an awesome contrast to the happy and optimistic crew we normally see. Janeway is tough and acts as many viewers wanted her to act if you read through reviews of past episodes. She is ruthless and doesn't care about other species as long as she gets home faster. Not only has she built a crew of soldiers including Kazon, she even commands a small Borg squad led by Seven.

The lesson of this episode is really strong and makes you think. About the history of your people, about which historical events and interpretations are real and which are just glorified myths on which your society has built on. How many heroes and martyrs of a civilization were indeed as heroic and righteous as stories and history describes them.

I wonder though: The doctor is projected with a backup copy. In episodes before he only could be in one system at a time. With a backup, lots of episodes and events would have made less sense, e.g. When he was sent to the Starfleet vessel in the alpha quadrant. With a backup, Voyager still would have another doctor ready to activate. And he would not have to worry about his mobile emitter. If it would fail, they could restore him from backup anytime.

The end of this episode is typical Star Trek optimism. Instead of riot, chaos and more wars after the truth has been revealed, the two species have learned their lesson and are living in peace and harmony now.

The last minute is what Star Trek is all about

[bloopville · 9/10 · 26 September 2021]

Those who conclude that Revisionist history is always wrong, miss the point.

What this episode says is the history always has an Epistemological problem. The historical narrative we accept may be right or it may be wrong, and interpretation of events always says more about current times, than historic times.

We can actually never know the true story of events, and believing in either the traditional story or the Revisionist story is 100% true, is logically absurd. Neither can be known for sure.

The script has many implausibilities, but the sense of awe and wonder of the now 700 year old doctor setting out alone on a 60,000 light year search gives you that some experience of the mystery and vastness of space that we had in TOS, in the 60s.

Now, it is likely that there would be contact with the Federation or its descendant in 700 years, so that is a script flaw, but, still, the hope of reconciliation and exploration that was our aspiration 55 years ago was heartwarming and humbling.

Good episode on historical perspective

[mbird · 9/10 · 28 January 2021]

Good episode focused on the doctor and how history can be skewed

REAL HISTORY VS FAKE HISTORY

[awbusa · 10/10 · 7 April 2021]

The VASKANS that attacked the museum are so freaking stupid BECAUSE THE EMH vindicated the VASKANS from being the BAD GUYS that started the GREAT WAR.